Swain Rework Hitting The Rift In 2022 [Update]

We know that both Taliyah and Olaf will be getting slight reworks, but Swain will also receive a mid-scope update this year.

Hextech swain — Will he finally be a mid laner again? | © Riot Games

Swain was already set to get a slight change in power, but the proposed changes that had been on PBE a few weeks ago were quickly scrapped and Riot had to go back to the drawing board on this one. Now, they've revealed that, like Taliyah and Olaf, Swain would get a mid-scope update as well.

Ahri was the first champion to get such a mini rework this year, and it has done wonders for her pick and win rate. Now Riot will try to shift Swain's power around as well. Does this mean he's going to be a viable mid lane pick again?

[Update April 28, 2022]

Riot Releasing Hotfix For Swain In Patch 12.08

LoL Patch 12.08 went live on April 27, 2022, and we finally got to see Swain's mid-scope update on the public servers. The Noxian Emperor's rework seems to have been a success, but Riot felt the need to act on some smaller issues. This is why they released a hotfix for him today. These are the stats that have been adjusted:

Base Stats
- Base Armor: 23 --> 26
- Movement Speed: 325 --> 330

You see, not much has been changed. Still, Swain should have some improved survivability with these adjustments. Was this hotfix really necessary or are the players just not really accustomed to the revamped Swain this early after his release?

[Update April 12, 2022]

Swain Changes Coming Soon

Swain is getting his rework pretty soon it seems. The old changes to his passive was quickly thrown away and in its place are changes that will make Swain a total burst mage chad. Seriously, these changes look pretty hefty and will definitely bring back the fantasy of Swain. So let's check out what changes Riot has prepared for us.

Ability	Change
Ravenous Flock (P)	[REMOVED] Swain can no longer pull crowd-controlled enemies [REMOVED] Swain's pull no longer deals damage Healing changed from 4/5.5/7% (lvl1/6/11) max health to 4/5,5/7/9% (lvl 1/6/11/16) max health Health per soul fragment 4 --> 12
Death's Hand (Q)	Mana Cost: 65-85 --> 45-65Cooldown: 9-3 seconds --> 7-3 seconds Damage: 55-135(+40%AP) --> 60-140(+40%AP) Additional Bolt Damage: 15-35% --> 12-52(+10%AP) Max Damage: 88-324(+64-96%AP) --> 108-348(+80%AP)
Vision of Empire (W)	Mana Cost: 70-110 --> 60-80 [NEW]Pings now display enemies in range, similar to Twisted Fate R and Nocturne R
Nevermove (E)	[NEW] Can be reactivated to pull all champions rooted by Nevermove [NEW] Cooldown is reduced by 20% during Demonic Ascension (R)
Demonic Ascension (R)	Cooldown 120s --> 100/80/60sDrain Damage per second: 35/50/60(+14%AP) --> 20/45/70(+10%AP) Drain Heal per second: 20/35/40(+16%AP) --> 20/40/60(+16%AP) --> 15/40/65(+25%) [REMOVED] No longer grants 125/200/275 health [CHANGED] Upon casting Demonic Ascension, Swain gains 50 demon power. Demonic Ascension lasts as long as Swain has demon Power, which drains at a rate of 10 per second. While draining an enemy champion, Swain gains 20 Demonic Power per second. After 3 seconds, Swain can cast Demonflare (R2)
Demonflare (R2)	Demonflare Damage: 100/150/200(+50%AP) --> 150/225/300(+60%AP) [NEW] Demonflare now slows enemies by 60% decaying over 1.5 seconds [CHANGED] On casting Demonic Ascension, Swain can cast Demonflare 1 time. This does not end Demonic Ascension [REMOVED] Demonflare no longer charges up based on health drained, up to double damage

When Will Swain's Mid-Scope Update Release?

The changes just went on the PBE Server for the PBE 12.8 Cycle, so we could see them as soon as Legaue of Legends Patch 12.8. This could just be the first iteration of the update though, and Riot can always take Swain down to make more changes at a later stage. But for now we're saying Patch 12.8, but that could always change. Remember those Rengar updates from 2021?

[Original Article]

Previous Proposed Swain Changes

Ahead of Patch 12.6, Riot had looked into Swain and what changes they're able to make on the champion. The balance team looked to change his passive, Q and ultimate, but those proposed updates didn't hit the mark.

Abilities	Proposed Changes
P - Ravenous Flock	[Removed] No longer deals magic damage
Q - Death's Hand	Cooldown lowered from 9/7.5/6/4.5/3 to 7/6/5/4/3 Mana lowered from 65/70/75/80/85 to 50/55/60/65/70
R - Demonic Ascension	Cooldown changed from [120] to [120/100/80]

Fans were worried that this would actually make the champion weaker since items like Luden's and Liandry's wouldn't have much of an effect on the champion anymore. Therefore, Riot decided to take the changes off the PBE and focus on a bigger mid-scope update.

Swain Mid-Scope Update Announced

Riot August, Lead Champion Designer on League of Legends, recently tweeted out the balance team's vision of updating both Olaf and Taliyah. He followed that tweet up by another explaining that Swain would also be part of these mid-scope updates.

These mid-scope updates will tackle issues on a champions' kit that don't make them viable in the current state of League of Legends, which is why Riot will try to revitalize and re-imagine them to make the champion a popular pick even ten years after their release.

What Could A Swain Mid-Scope Update Look Like?

The earlier proposed changes didn't do much for solo lane Swain, other than giving him some mana cost reduction and cooldown reduction. His damage in solo lanes is already weak, which is why fans were so worried about the earlier changes. These updates wouldn't have made support Swain any more attractive either.

Swain should retain his battle mage identity and by doing so, Riot could make his E more reliable, so he's really able to go in on opponents and bully them. Of course, Riot could also look into his passive to make some adjustments that it doesn't just give him HP and heal him. Maybe replace the HP gain by something else to make him more powerful even in later stages of the game?